2016 Lake Ontario Area Grow Season

So...does anyone think we'll get to have one? Right now, it's -3 degrees C or something something degrees Fahrenheit along the northern shore of Lake Ontario; either way, it's still below freezing.

I have never grown anything outside before, but it's looking less likely that anything will be going into the ground until closer to May, even then, there's no guarantee of a frost free spring. I also have a bunch of beans plants, tomater plants and an assortment of other veggie vegedibles waiting to go in the dirt.



Aside from my griping, I'd like to know what strains fare best in this climate, what are you planning on growing? Is it worth getting autoflowers around these parts? How do yu keep 'em stealthy if you're somewhere urban?

I have a crazy idea of mixing my vegetables and some decorative flowers for added camouflage. I'm thinking some lattice work and pole beans along the north end of the garden, then some tomatoes, sun flowers, and Swiss Chard.

I'd also throw in some Larkspur:


Some Foxglove:


and some Lupin:


just to be extra stealthy. These things all grow to between 30 cm and 1.5 m (1 to 5 feet) tall.

Not sure about your climate but I'm in Canada as well.. the outdoor season is generally June 1st to middle/end of September.

About an hour north of Toronto, rarely put anything out until end of May so lots of time to warm up, just a late spring. I have 2 clones in 3gal pots getting ready for outdoor. Will veg them indoor until sometime mid to end of May, they'll go into 10-15gal fabric pots in a couple of weeks and be fairly large by the time they get outdoor. They veg until ~mid July and start flowering by beginning of August. You want an 8 week or less pheno ideally to finish by end of September. I've pulled somewhere between last week of Sept. to 1st week of October depending on the year and strain up here.

GroErr said:

About an hour north of Toronto, rarely put anything out until end of May so lots of time to warm up, just a late spring. I have 2 clones in 3gal pots getting ready for outdoor. Will veg them indoor until sometime mid to end of May, they'll go into 10-15gal fabric pots in a couple of weeks and be fairly large by the time they get outdoor. They veg until ~mid July and start flowering by beginning of August. You want an 8 week or less pheno ideally to finish by end of September. I've pulled somewhere between last week of Sept. to 1st week of October depending on the year and strain up here.

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forget about putting them outside before the 1 june , if they get stunted they take at least a week to recover

mushroom head said:

Not sure about your climate but I'm in Canada as well.. the outdoor season is generally June 1st to middle/end of September.

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madininagyal said:

forget about putting them outside before the 1 june , if they get stunted they take at least a week to recover

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That's good news, it'll give me some time to get some more started. Thanks!

GroErr said:

I have 2 clones in 3gal pots getting ready for outdoor. Will veg them indoor until sometime mid to end of May, they'll go into 10-15gal fabric pots in a couple of weeks and be fairly large by the time they get outdoor. They veg until ~mid July and start flowering by beginning of August. You want an 8 week or less pheno ideally to finish by end of September. I've pulled somewhere between last week of Sept. to 1st week of October depending on the year and strain up here.

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Great info, thanks! What strain are you growing? I was also looking at fabric pots, do you just leave them above ground or do you bury them?

Thanks to all!

damnsmoker said:

Great info, thanks! What strain are you growing? I was also looking at fabric pots, do you just leave them above ground or do you bury them?

Thanks to all!

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I'm growing my own cross, JTR x Blueberry, have a pheno that finishes by end of September and produces well. I leave the pots above ground in case I have to move them. 10-15gal is about as big as you want to go if you have to move them for whatever reason.

madininagyal said:

forget about putting them outside before the 1 june , if they get stunted they take at least a week to recover

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Depends on the year, last year I had them out 3rd week of May and they were fine. Typically though end of May is safer.

GroErr said:

About an hour north of Toronto, rarely put anything out until end of May so lots of time to warm up, just a late spring. I have 2 clones in 3gal pots getting ready for outdoor. Will veg them indoor until sometime mid to end of May, they'll go into 10-15gal fabric pots in a couple of weeks and be fairly large by the time they get outdoor. They veg until ~mid July and start flowering by beginning of August. You want an 8 week or less pheno ideally to finish by end of September. I've pulled somewhere between last week of Sept. to 1st week of October depending on the year and strain up here.

Click to expand...

I would love to discuss some things with you I am planning my first outdoor grow and it will be in the same area about hour or 2 north of Toronto.

If you have a cheap greenhouse you can put plants out in April or May and keep them there until the end of October quite easily if it's a proper strain. The greenhouse also somewhat hides your plants because the plastic that covers them isn't perfectly clear so you can't exactly tell what's growing inside. It also keeps rain and harsh wind off your plants. You also have many more strains to choose from with a greenhouse. I'll likely only keep the plastic on for May and part of June, then take it off until mid Sept if/when the evenings start getting cold.

I built one last year out of 1" pvc tubing and some 2'x4's and 2'x6's. I bought a roll of plastic that I take off in the fall and just cut a new piece in the spring because it ends up getting holes in it. The one I built is 13' x 15' and about 10' tall in the center. Anyway, just a thought. You can build them any size you want.